Awkward
by MysticalStrawberry
Summary: Fionna keeps noticing something weird about Gumball and Marshall, but she's just not sure what it is. GumLee, yaoi, maturesituations, MxM.
1. Chapter 1

"Yeah? We-well, fine, then! I don't want to see your stupid face ever again!"

"That's fine by me. You won't ever see it again," was the reply, in a low, smooth tone.

"Good, because I don't want to!"

"Good, you won't."

"Hurting Cake is the last straw. Your stupid pranks have gone too far, Marshall!"

"I understand. Bye, Fionna," Marshall floated away, heading for home, and Fionna stormed off for home as well.

"Ooh, girl, it wasn't that big a deal, now," Cake insisted. "I'm alright, look!" she stretched her arms out, waving them crazily. "You should go talk with that boy instead of ending your friendship forever. Forever's a long time!"

"Cake, look, Marshall's kind of dangerous. I like him and all, he's a really cool guy, but he puts you in a lot of danger. And I can't have him putting you in danger," Fionna insisted. "Alright? His funny pranks are going to get you hurt."

"Oooh…" Cake frowned, grumpily. "Well, you have to forgive him sometime."

"I will. Later. Promise. As soon as I'm not mad anymore," Fionna insisted.

Cake glanced up and saw something in a nearby tree. When she looked again, it was gone.

About a week later, Fionna was sitting on the couch playing with BMO, and Cake was reading a book.

"I'm kind of bored," Fionna frowned. "I wonder what Gumball or Marshall have going on."

"Marshall? You ready to forgive him now?" Cake questioned, excitedly.

"No! It's just… I haven't heard anything from him. I don't know if he's even okay," Fionna frowned. "Maybe I should go, check on him, and then leave."

"Yeah, that's a good idea! You should definitely go and do that," Cake nodded. "In the morning."

"But Cake, you know Marshall sleeps through most of the day. He could die in those next 15 hours," Fionna added.

"Girl, the sun went down, like, forever ago. Are you really going to run out there at this time of night?" Cake questioned.

Fionna thought a moment, her lips pursing in thought. "Hmmm... yeah. I want to. Let's do it," she got to her feet. "Come on, Cake."

"Oooh, alright girl. But you better put on your sweater, it's cold out there!" Cake said, pulling on her booties.

Fionna put her sweater on, grabbing her backpack. "come on!" they took off toward Marshall's, Fionna clung onto Cake's back the whole ride over. Fionna started walking once Cake shrunk down to size and she stopped at his door. She didn't hear anything from inside so she knocked.

She didn't hear anything. She listened closely, and there was no sound from inside, but there was a light on, inside. Fionna frowned. "What on earth is goin' on? Usually he's Jamming or something... That's it, Cake, I'm goin' in!"

Fionna took a step back before kicking the door down fiercely. "MARSHALL WHERE ARE- … oh."

Gumball was on his feet, smoothing out his shirt. His face was flushed crimson. "W-well, then! I- I suppose we can have no... we can come to no agreement here. I'm leaving, Marshall."

"Hey wait, what's going on?" Fionna was confused. "Gumball, you're never out this late... What are you doing?"

"I was... um," Gumball paused.

"Oh no, girl, we need to GO, like NOW," Cake tugged on her arm, awkwardly.

Marshall was sitting back on the couch, his clothes and hair all messed up. He picked up his guitar and started strumming it. "No worries, Fionna. Gumball and I were just holding a little friendly council... He wanted to see if we could work out our problems from the past..."

"I think that's great!" Fionna said, enthusiastically.

"O-oh, do you? That's good, I'm glad you think so. It doesn't... um," Gumball shifted on his feet. "It doesn't look like we could come to any agreements tonight so I'll just be going now,"

"Oh, aww, was it my fault? Was it because I came in? I'll leave if you need me to,"

"Yeah, Gumball... she'll leave if you want. I know how... uncomfortable you get. Handling delicate matters like these in front of a crowd..." Marshall grinned.

"Oh no thank you, if you'll excuse me," Gumball was out the door in a moment.

"Heh," Marshall grinned. "So what's up, Fionna? Weren't you totally mad just a few days ago?" He changed songs, strumming a bit more energetically. "You sure barged in in a hurry."

"Well, I hadn't heard anything from you or Gumball in awhile and I wanted to make sure you were okay!" Fionna nodded. "But it looks like you're alright."

"Yeah, I'm alright. Sorry about what I did to Cake though. Sorry, Cake," Marshall grinned at her. Cake looked horrified.

"Uh... don't worry about it. Fionna, we need to go. Let's let Marshall have some privacy now, girl," Cake tugged her arm. "We really need to work on your knocking skills. You didn't even TRY knocking before you busted the door down," Cake ushered her out the door and Marshall just grinned after them.

"Well, I was WORRIED," Fionna insisted, stubbornly. "Cake, why are you acting so weird?"

"Girl, do you even have any idea what was... no, never mind. You don't. You BETTER not have any idea," Cake puffed up. "I'll have to beat somebody DOWN."

"What are you TALKING about?" Fionna asked, frustrated.

"From now on, when you go to Marshall's... OR Gumball's, for that matter, you knock before you enter! I would have thought we would have learned that LAST time after you walked in on Gumball," Cake frowned, deeply.

"How was I supposed to know he was NAKED?" Fionna asked, frustrated. "Urgh why do people need all this privacy for?"

Cake made a face. "Girl, people need privacy. How would you feel if every time you changed your clothes, Marshall or Gumball burst in on you in the middle?"

"Change my clothes? What's that?" Fionna made a face.

Cake grew gigantic, flinging Fionna up on her back. "Girl, you did NOT just say that..." they headed for home.

"I'm bored," Fionna complained.

"Why don't you go out and talk with some of your other friends?" BMO asked.

"Well. Yeah, alright. I'm gonna go bother Gumball," Fionna got to her feet and she started walking over to the Candy Kingdom, keeping her eyes peeled for trouble.

She got to the Candy Kingdom and then to the castle. She walked towards Gumball's room, pausing at the door. I should knock. Cake said to. I don't wanna see him naked again. She knocked on the door. "GUMBALL IT'S ME," she yelled at it.

"Uh! One- one minute!" Gumball replied.

Fionna waited a few seconds, wondering what he was doing in there before she just barged in. "Hi, Gumball! I was bored at home so I was like, 'I think I'm gonna go bother Gumball,'" The room was neat and tidy and Gumball sat on his bed, his elbows on his knees, awkwardly. Why's he sitting like that? At least he's dressed though. Gumball is so weird.

"Oh. Really? Well, Fionna, you know, I'm actually kind of-"

"Hey, you know what?" Fionna went on.

"Wh-what?" Gumball asked, confused.

"You should give me something fun to do!" Fionna insisted. "Like, PSHHOOO!" she jumped up and swung her arm down, knocking something off a table. A lid rolled off and underneath a long table with a tablecloth reaching all the way to nearly the floor. "Send me on a mission! … Oh, whoops!" she picked up the jar. "I'll get it."

"Wait, Fionna, don-"

Fionna dove under the table, reaching for the lid. She bumped into something. She looked up to see Marshall not even an inch from her. Sensing the situation, Fionna whispered quietly, "Marshall? What are you doing under here?"

"Hi, Fionna," Marshall whispered, back, grinning at her. "I'm... uh," he brushed some hair out of his face. "I'm playing a prank on Gumball. I'm gonna sneak out later and scare him. Go on. Don't say anything to him."

Fionna nodded, grinning back at him. "Okay," she whispered. Marshall's shirt was buttoned wrong, and Fionna wondered about it but didn't say anything. She backed out, carrying the lid. "I got it!"

Gumball was crimson red, looking thoroughly ashamed of himself. "Uh- I- … I see. Th-thank you, Fionna... I... Di... uh..."

"Well, I changed my mind, I'm gonna go find something to do on my own! Cake's off on a date with Lord Monochromicorn, you're busy, so I'm just going to find something else to do," Fionna sighed. "Maybe I'll go see if Flame Prince is busy, I'm sure he'll wanna go do something, later, Gumball," Fionna left the room, shutting the door behind her.


	2. Chapter 2

"Thanks for inviting me to your tea ceremony... thing, Gumball!" Fionna said, cheerfully, adjusting her backpack. "It sounded like it was gonna be a lot of fun."

"No problem, Fionna," Gumball smiled at her. "Of course I would invite you... on top of that, Marshall just wouldn't let me not invite you..." he said, awkwardly. "So there was no way you wouldn't be here tonight."

"Well, hey, I could have been doing something," Fionna frowned a bit.

"I'm sure Marshall would have come and got you. He really wanted you here, for some reason," Gumball rubbed the back of his head. "Anyway, go on and mingle, I'm going to go speak with LSP. He's spotted me and I just know I won't be able to do anything until I've talked with him." Gumball walked over to LSP.

Fionna looked around, wondering where Marshall was. She walked around, spotting Cake with Lord Monochromicorn. She rushed over. "Cakeeeee! You're here too!"

"I didn't know you were gonna be here, Fionna!" Cake said, surprised.

"Yeah, Gumball invited me," Fionna nodded.

Lord Monochromicorn typed out something in the dirt. ".-.. . - ... -. - ... - - . .- ... . .-. . - - .-. . .-. .-. .. ...- .- - . -..- -.-. .- -.- . .-.-.- "

Cake's tail puffed up to twice its size. "Fionna, I'd love to stay and talk with you but we're gonna go ahead and leave. This party is a little more boring than I expected."

"What did he say?" Fionna asked, confused.

".. .-. .-.. .-.. / -.. - / - ... .- - / - ... .. -. -. / -.- - ..- / .-.. .. -.- ."

Cake puffed up all over her body. "He just said that... Well, he said all Gumball's events are... boring. That's what he said. It doesn't... translate well."

"But wait, Cake, morse code is..."

"See ya!" Cake left with LM, leaving Fionna confused.

"I never understand what he's saying," Fionna pushed her lips out, looking puzzled. She felt a tap on her shoulder and found herself face to face with Marshall's evil face. "Marshall! Stop trying to scare me!" she punched him in the shoulder.

"Ouch, gee, Fionna, that might have actually hurt, you know," Marshall grinned. "I'm glad you decided to show up."

"Why are you so excited to have me here?" Fionna questioned.

"Man, I dunno, maybe because these parties are insanely lame," Marshall raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, you're kind of right. I just wanted to be nice to Gumball," Fionna sighed.

"Oh, don't be nice to him... Hey, go over there and slap him right here," Marshall reached for Fionna, putting his hand on Fionna's lower back.

"A slap? I dunno, Marshall... it sounds weird. Why?" Fionna made a face.

"Mm... it's a weird spot for him. He'll make a huge scene if you do it, and it'll be hilarious. Just go give him a smack."

Fionna seemed confused. "He'll make a scene? Why? Because it's so close to his butt? I don't understand."

"Fionna, you're asking too many questions," Marshall looked straight at her. "Just go do it. Tell you what, if you go do that, I'll invite you to the next Boys' Night."

"I'm so in!" Fionna said, eagerly. She ran over to Gumball, who was busily engaged in conversation with Gumball. She slapped him hard across his lower back, in the spot Marshall had indicated. Fionna frowned, confused when she felt something weird underneath her palm. It felt almost like a knot, and Fionna was deeply curious about it.

Gumball jumped a mile high, whirling around. "! F-fionna, what are you doing?" he asked, his face crimson red.

"What was that?" Fionna questioned, confused.

"What was what? I don't know what you're talking about. If you'll excuse me, it's time to start the tea ceremony, excuse me, LSP..." Gumball walked away from her and LSP quickly, putting distance between them.

Fionna heard Marshall laughing from where he was and she wondered what was going on. _Those two are REALLY weird! _She walked back over to Marshall.

He held his hand out for a high-five. "That made my night, Fionna," Marshall was grinning. Fionna high-fived him.

"I'm not sure what I did. What was that? It felt kind of lumpy and hard, almost like a rope or somethin'." She rubbed her palm.

He patted her head. "You'll know someday, Fionna. Or maybe you won't. Probably not." Laughing, he floated off.

"I BETTER STILL GET THAT INVITATION TO BOYS' NIGHT!" Fionna yelled after him.

Marshall waved over his shoulder, going up to Gumball, leaning on his left shoulder. A bright red color creeped up and over Gumball's features, until his entire face was crimson. They seemed to be talking heatedly. Marshall said something into Gumball's ear before floating away. Fionna wondered what they were talking about.

"What the lump, Fionna," LSP scowled, a drink in his hand. "I'm trying to talk to you here but you keep staring at Marshall like he's a lump of meat."

"I'm sorry, Lumpy Space Prince. I'm just a little distracted tonight!" Fionna apologized. _Something weird is going on with Marshall and Gumball... I wonder what's going on with them... Why they won't tell me about it._

"Oh my glob. Did you SEE what Turtle Prince was-" Fionna tuned LSP out when she heard the announcement from Gumball to take their seats.

They all took their seats and the tea party began. Fionna was at the table with Gumball, LSP, Cinnamon Bun, and Peppermint Maid. She looked around. "Where's Marshall?"

"O-oh, he's... around," Gumball said, awkwardly. "I'm sure he'll show up eventually," He poured his own cup of tea, passing the pot around. "Commence the tea-drinking!"

Fionna studied Gumball, confused. Everything seemed weird. As Gumball lowered his arms to set his tea down, Fionna saw a flash of something under his tunic. _Why is he wearing a rope under his clothes? _Fionna decided to let it go. Those two were weird.

The rest of the evening passed by uneventfully for Fionna. She didn't see Marshall Lee again for the rest of the evening, and she wondered where he'd disappeared to.  
It was a few weeks before she made it to Gumball's castle again, this time, unsummoned. Gumball was sitting in the dining room, leaning over the table, his eyes closed and his brows knit. Fionna walked in and spotted him.  
"Hey Gumball! What's wrong, do you have a headache?" Fionna asked.  
Gumball sat up quickly. "Ah- uh, no, I'm... Fine. Don't you believe in knocking?"

"But you're in the dining room?" Fionna looked puzzled.

"Oh... yes... I... I guess I am. Fionna, I'm very busy right now. As soon as dinner is over I plan to scoot on down to my knitting circle and we're all going to have a knit-off and you know, I just... I'm so busy. Cou-..." He took a deep breath, before clearing his throat. "S-sorry. Could you c-come back later?"

"Oh, yeah. You sure you're okay?"

"Fine, I'm fine. Just please come back later," he seemed annoyed.

Fionna turned and walked out. Confused, she walked home, through the dangerous forest. She walked slow, and slayed beasts as they came to try and clear her head. _Gumball's still acting weird. It's not just him. It's Marshall too... I wonder why they're acting like this. Do... Is it possible they're planning something? Or maybe they just don't want to be my friend anymore... _

She got home and she went straight to bed. Cake seemed worried about her but didn't bother her.

"Good night, Fionna," she whispered at her, blowing the candle out.

A few days later, and it was Boys' Night. Marshall had invited her and Gumball was on board with it as well. _Well, maybe everything is okay, _Fionna thought. She arrived, wearing her matching shirt and she greeted them excitedly. They were arguing about something Fionna wasn't sure about. She overheard Marshall say, "I'm too beautiful, Gumball,"

"Marshall I- Oh, Fionna! Hello! Welcome," he greeted her excitedly.

"Glad you could make it, Fionna." Marshall grinned at her, sticking his tongue out.

"I'm SO excited you don't even KNOW." Fionna declared.

"Oh I have an idea. Oh! I left the cookies in the oven! Please excuse me!" Gumball left the room quickly and Fionna took a seat.

"Man so what kind of awesome activities do we have going on today?" Fionna grinned, excitedly. "All the best ones! Once Gumball gets back with those cookies, you'll see what kind of fun I have in mind," Marshall grinned, looking smug.

Gumball returned with the cookies, setting them down. Marshall looked down at the cookies, puzzled. "You made red cookies?"

"Of course! I wanted you to have some too!" Gumball insisted. "After all, we can't be the only ones eating."

"... Well, I guess I'll have one," Marshall looked uncaring as he removed a cookie off the plate and floated on his back across the room lazily. He quickly drained the cookie of its red color and dropped it on Gumball's head.

"Hey!" Gumball said, accusingly. "Throw away your leftovers in the trash when you're done with them. Honestly!"

"I thought I already did." Marshall grinned.

Gumball tossed the cookie in the trash. "You are so crude."

Fionna was laughing. "Oh man. Hey, Marshall, are you going to play another one of your songs tonight? Those are WAY fun."

"Eh, maybe later. I brought the bass, so I could probably play some jams." Marshall shrugged, fluidly.

Fionna picked up the cookie, staring at it.

"Fionna? What's wrong?"

"N-nothing. I like your cookies!" Fionna said, hurriedly. She stuffed the whole thing in her mouth.

"Goodness! With an appetite like that, I'll need to bake more cookies! Be right back." Gumball left the room again.

Fionna spit it back out and tossed it out the window. Marshall was laughing loudly.

"Your plan totally backfired," Marshall snickered. "Now you have to eat even more than that."

"There's something about Gumball's pastries and stuff that I just don't like…" Fionna made a face.

"Like those cream puffs? I think he's guinea pigging his food on you," Marshall grinned at her.

"Ughhh," Fionna flopped down on the bed. "Well, I suppose I could eat some… so I don't offend him."

"Oh, they're… delicious but I'm so full. In fact, I'm so full, that I have to go to the bathroom! Be right back!" Fionna said, ducking out of the room, heading to the bathroom. On her way back, she overheard Marshall and Gumball talking.

"We really need to tell her, Marshall-"

"I'm not going to tell her anything." Fionna heard him strumming on his bass.

"Well, aren't YOU getting a little bit tired of it? Fionna's just always there at the wrong time, and…" she heard Gumball sigh. "If we can't tell her the truth, we'll just lie to her but we have to tell her something! She's just ALWAYS around."

Fionna's back stiffened and she suddenly felt a huge weight on her chest. _They don't want me around anymore! They don't like me anymore. _She turned and fled the candy castle, taking off for home. She burst inside, slamming the door shut behind her.

Cake was on the couch with Lord Mo-cro and she startled, zipping over to where Fionna was in a second. "Fionna! I thought you were staying the night with Marshall and Gum-"

Fionna took a deep breath and burst into tears, tearing for the ladder leading upstairs to curl into bed. Cake puffed up, immediately defensive. "OH NO. Girl, you BETTER tell me what happened. Do I have to break some faces? Because I will BREAK SOME FACES," she zipped up to where Fionna was, determined to get the whole story.


	3. Chapter 3

"Marshall, you're acting completely ridiculous!" Gumball crossed his arms, standing outside the bathroom, glaring daggers at Marshall. They'd been arguing for some time now.

"Bubba, there's no way she's still in there, it's been like 3 hours!" Marshall scowled. "I think she left!"

"There's no WAY Fionna would just take off! She LOVES Boys' Night!" Gumball frowned. "Just leave her alone, she'll come out on her own!"

"Bubba, just let me knock on the DOOR! If she answers, then I'm wrong!" he seemed annoyed. "And you know what? Why are YOU telling me what to do? Last I checked, /I/ was the one that did that."

Gumball took a step back, fidgeting with his hands. "Well, um," A slight blush spread across his pink cheeks.

"I'm knocking," Marshall pounded on the bathroom door.

Suddenly the hallway door burst open and Cake exploded through it, a rage-filled ball of anger and motherly righteousness. She expanded to ten times her normal size, her large paws wrapping around both Gumball and Marshall, looking enraged.

"OW, GIANT CLAWS!" Gumball winced. "CAKE, PUT ME DOWN! RIGHT NOW!"

"NO," Cake said, furiously. "What on EARTH is WRONG with you two?" she gave them a shake for good measure. "How DARE you hurt Fionna like that?! I should rip you guys APART. GIVE ME ONE GOOD REASON WHY I SHOULDN'T!"

"We don't even know what we did!" Gumball blurted.

Cake narrowed her eyes.

"Yeah, I don't even know what's UP. Cake, come on. Why would we hurt Fionna?" Marshall raised an eyebrow, wincing as Cake's claws dug slightly too hard into his skin. "And EASY there, kitty, you're breaking the skin here. My beautiful skin…"

"She HEARD y'all!" Cake raised her voice even higher. "Talking about how you need to tell her you don't want her around anymore, and how she's always around at the wrong times! I could THROTTLE you two! You're going to go over there right now and APOLOGIZE to her!"

"Oh no, she heard that?" Gumball looked shocked. "That's not what we meant at all, Cake!"

"Well, what DID y'all mean?" Cake narrowed her eyes.

"Well, we needed to tell her that we're…" Gumball trailed off. "We're… Well, YOU know, Cake," he grew a little angry himself. "I don't need to tell YOU. And we don't want her around ALL the time! She always shows up at the wrong time and she NEVER knocks! One of these days, I'd like some privacy!"

Cake looked surprised. She shrunk back down to her normal size, letting Gumball and Marshall go. "Hmmfh. Sorry." She crossed her arms, looking grumpy. "I just don't like seeing Fionna cry, that's all."

"Fionna's crying?" Gumball seemed surprised again, as he adjusted his clothes and fixed his hair. "Marshall, we _have_ to tell her now!" He turned to face Marshall, pleading with the Vampire King.

Marshall put his hands in his pockets. "I don't know what you're talking about. I don't have to tell anyone anything. You can tell her if you want, but leave me out of it." He looked away from Gumball and Cake.

"WHAT?" Cake seethed.

"Take care of it, Gumball," Marshall floated out of the room.

"Who does he think he IS?" Cake raged, puffing up again. "I'll claw some sense into his stupid head!"

"Sometimes I wonder the same… About the who he thinks he is, not the clawing… Obviously…" Gumball rubbed the back of his head. "But, um, no harm done. I'll just go talk to Fionna and make sure she's alright."

The two of them walked back to Fionna's, Gumball going upstairs when he got there. "Fionna? Are you alright?"

"G-Gumball?" Fionna gasped, burying her face in her pillow. "Go away! I'm going to stay away from you from now on! I know I'm just a big nuisance who always shows up at the wrong time!"

"Fionna, that's not true!" Gumball insisted. "That's not what Marshall and I meant!"

"Oh really? Then what DID you mean?" Fionna sat up, looking at Gumball with teary eyes.

"I… Fionna, we… um… I need to tell you something," Gumball started. "M-… Marshall and I… we… well…"

"What? What is it?" Fionna pressed, her tone hurt.

"Well, Marshall and I, we're…" Gumball tried again. "… I, Fionna, I promise you that's not what we meant!"

"Where's Marshall?" Fionna demanded.

"He… He went…" Gumball was too flustered to think of anything clever.

"HE HATES ME TOO MUCH TO EVEN PRETEND!" Fionna lay back down, covering her face. "JUST LEAVE ME ALONE, GUMBALL!"

Gumball hesitated but left the treehouse.

"GUMBALL!" Cake chased after him. "That's IT? You're going to leave it like that?" Cake was furious.

"I can't tell her!" Gumball shook his head. "I… I just can't tell her what's going on, Cake." He hung his head in shame. "I can't tell her about Marshall and me."

"Urghhhh, you two are…" Cake threw her hands up. "You know what? Forget it! Come back when you're ready to apologize to Fionna!"

She stormed off and Gumball started walking back to his castle, head lowered, deep in thought about what to do. He was so deep in thought, he didn't notice he was being followed. Marshall appeared next to him, floating upside down. "Did you get to clear your conscious, Bubble Boy?"

"NO! I couldn't tell her. Not to mention she's extra upset... Said you weren't there because you hate her," Gumball was annoyed, glowering at Marshall in annoyance. "Marshall, I can't tell her, and I REALLY can't tell her by myself. You need to be there."

Marshall raised an eyebrow. "Why do I need to BE there? Just tell her, Bubba. 'Marshall and I are getting it on, on the regular. He does things to me that NO one has ever done… And he REALLY brings out the woman in me…'" Marshall chuckled. "Ooh, or better yet, this one. 'Fionna, I'm sure you've heard the story of what happens when a man and woman love each other very much… well, sometimes when a man and another man get really, really desperate,'" Marshall grinned.

Gumball skidded to his tracks, halting in a dead stop. All amusement and feelings other than pure rage disappeared. "Excuse me. What did you JUST say?" he fixed his eyes on Marshall, his eyes burning with fury. "What… EXACTLY… were you implying there, Marshall?" His tone was cold and empty.

Marshall looked confused, knitting his eyebrows, studying Gumball. "What do you mean, what was I implying?"

"When a man and another man get really, really desperate?" Gumball repeated, his voice full of rage. "Is that what this is? You getting really, really desperate? Well, then, I think you can go be DESPERATE somewhere else. Because I don't think I'm with you because I'm really really desperate!" He turned on his heel and strode away from Marshall quickly, furious at the vampire for saying something so stupid.

Marshall looked after Gumball, annoyed. "Y-yeah? Well, go on then! I didn't really want to… I… I didn't care to…" he seemed confused. "You know what, forget it!" He turned and flew off the other direction, heading for home.

"Fionna, I really think you need to speak with the two of them again!" Cake sighed. "It's a misunderstanding… A big one, I promise!"

"Oh really, then how come Gumball couldn't tell me what was going on?" Fionna blurted.

"Because… it's really embarrassing for him, and honestly, I'm not even entirely sure he understands the situation himself," Cake sighed. "Marshall's the only one who really can explain it but I don't think he understands it either. He seems to have the final say on it…"

"Cake…?" Fionna asked. "I… I don't know if I can. What if they really do hate me?"

"They don't! They're just too embarrassed to tell you what's really going on!" Cake puffed up. "TRUST ME, FIONNA!"

Fionna sighed. "Okay but… I'll go tomorrow. I don't feel like going today."

"I understand." Cake nodded. "We'll go tomorrow and get the story out of them."

Fionna approached the castle, and as she headed down the hallway, she heard Marshall and Gumball fighting, loudly. "You always do this!" Gumball yelled. "What do you WANT, Marshall? Is this a game for you? Seeing how upset you can get me? You always say these things that just… that you KNOW will make me so angry, and then after I tell you to stay away from me, I find you creeping in the shadows of my room, following me around… Is it funny for you, Marshall? Because I'm not amused!"

"It's… it's not a game for me either!" Marshall seemed annoyed. "I just… I don't know why I say that stuff! I just can't help it. And then when you get really, legitimately mad at me, I can't… I can't just float away and leave you alone! It… you drive me crazy! When you're mad at me like this and I'm not here… I just can't stand it. It drives me CRAZY not knowing where you are or what you're doing or if you're thinking about me or not… I don't even know what I want either here, Gumball! I don't know if… if this is serious or if I just think it's a big game, I don't really know." Marshall was silent.

"M-Marshall, I…" Gumball trailed off. "Well… I'll… wait. Until you figure it out."

Someone let out a heavy sigh from inside the room. Fionna decided now was a good time to knock. Gumball walked over to the door, opening it. "Yes?... Oh! Fionna!... Did… did you hear all that?" He turned bright red.

"Yes," Fionna nodded, looking down at the ground. "I came by to talk to you guys. Cake said I needed to hear what was going on."

Gumball looked confused. "I thought you said you heard all of that."

"I did," Fionna frowned. "Does that have anything to do with it?"

Gumball turned and looked at Marshall.

"Urgh just invite her in already, clearly this talk is going to happen," Marshall frowned, crossing his arms and legs, obviously pouting.

Fionna came in and took a seat on the couch. Gumball sat in the chair and got a thoughtful look on his face. "So… Fionna… Marshall and I have something important to talk to you about," Gumball started. "And… well… I don't know how to say it. Fionna, Marshall and I… we're… we… a few months ago we started to…" he laced his fingers together before pulling them apart and tucking them under his legs. "Wait no, let me start over. We… Marshall and I…"

"Are going out," Marshall finally sighed.

"You're going out?" Fionna asked, confused. "But wait, you're both guys."

"Yes, we are," Gumball said, stupidly, not sure what to say at this point.

"Yeah? So what? What's your point, Fionna?" Marshall laced his fingers behind his head. "What's gender got to do with it?"

"Well… I don't know. Cake said that boys get in relationships with girls. I remember she told me this because she said to be careful because she didn't want you guys to take advantage of me… whatever that means," Fionna frowned. Marshall snorted and Gumball looked shocked. "Well… so… you two are going out then."

"Yes, like you and Flame Prince," Gumball spoke up, eager to join in the conversation..

Fionna looked sad suddenly, thinking about Flame Prince. Marshall gave him a death glare. "A-HEM." Gumball scooted lower in his chair, realizing his mistake. "ANYWAY, the point is, Fionna, that Gumball and I, as a couple…" he made a face but went on. "Need some alone time. It seems like every time we get good and alone… you come in and interrupt us," Marshall explained. "We like you, Fionna. We really do. But girl, you really need to learn to knock and wait for us to answer before you just barge in! You dodged a few bullets, on multiple occasions."

"What's that mean?" Fionna asked again. Marshall thought hard a few moments. Fionna sighed. "Okay, it's okay. I get it. So you two are dating, secretly, for months now, and you didn't want me to know about it, so you were hiding it. I kept walking in on you guys doing couples' stuff like kissing and holding hands and you guys were trying to hide it. What you wanted to tell me was that I need to start knocking on doors and stuff before I enter them, right?"

Fionna seemed to have cheered up a lot since she'd first arrived.

"You mean you're okay with… us?" Gumball asked, dumbly.

"Of course! I don't see that it's really that weird," Fionna tilted her head. "Why? Is there something weird about it?"

"NO!" Gumball straightened up. "I mean… no, not particularly."

"So, Fionna, do you get everything now?" Marshall questioned.

"I get it!" Fionna got to her feet. "Thanks guys! I totally understand, I'll start knocking. Oh, but hey! Since you guys aren't keeping your relationship a secret from me anymore, I don't really have to knock on doors and stuff still, right?"

The dumbfounded looks on Marshall and Gumball's faces went unnoticed by Fionna as she rushed over to the door. "Great! I'll see you guys later!" She waved goodbye and headed out, leaving the two to sit in the room stupefied.

"She… she didn't learn ANYTHING, did she?" Gumball stared at the closed door.

Marshall sighed. "It sounds like she didn't… Well, she'll learn when she walks in on us someday."


End file.
